Class 

Book . r; ' 

DOBELL COLLECTION 



OBSERVATIONS 

ON 

A MEMOIR OF THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 



OBSERVATIONS 

ON 

A VOLUME RECENTLY PUBLISHED, 

ENTITLED 

'PERFECT PEACE;' 

OR 

ILzttivg 'Memorial 

OF 

THE LATE JOHN WARREN HOWELL, ESQ., OF BATH, 
M. R. C. S. 



BY MRS. HOUSMAN. 



Efltitran : 

PRINTED BY W. HUGHES, KING'S HEAD COURT, GOUGH SQUARE. 
M.DCCC.XL1V. 



i 



205449 



OBSERVATIONS 



ON 

A MEMOIR OF THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 



A small volume has recently been published, 
entitled c Perfect Peace : Letters-Memorial 
of the late John Warren Howell, Esq., of Bath, 
M. R. C. S., by the Rev. David Pitcairn ; with 
an Introduction, by the Rev. John Stevenson.' 
It contains a brief sketch of the professional 
life of Mr. Howell, and an interesting and 
affecting narrative of his sufferings during a 
severe illness which terminated in his prema- 
ture death in January, 1844. 

We have attentively perused this memoir, 
and deem it both interesting and affecting, 
but cannot hesitate to express our conviction 
that Mr. Howell's religious friends, who fre- 



6 ON A MEMOIR OF 

quently visited him during his illness, oc- 
casionally pressed somewhat too hardly upon 
him. It seems that from the first they con- 
templated giving publicity to his case, although 
it is not equally obvious that the sufferer en- 
tertained the most remote idea that such was 
their intention. He doubtless received their 
visits as intended to soothe him in the hour of 
affliction, and, while conversing with them on 
religious topics, and giving utterance to expres- 
sions condemnatory of himself, never imagined 
it was their intention to write down and publish 
all his sayings to the world. Had he conceived 
such to have been the object of his medical 
and clerical friends, with whom he confidentially 
conversed on theological subjects, it may be 
reasonably conjectured that his sensibility would 
have induced him to shrink from such an ordeal. 

It is not our intention to offer remarks on 
the several letters contained in this memoir, 
but merely to make a selection of certain 
passages, and to present the reader with such 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. J 

observations as their perusal has suggested 
to us. 

In confirmation of the opinion we have 
expressed^ that the sufferer had been pressed 
somewhat too hardly on points of religion, we 
quote the following passage from the fifth letter 
of the Rev. Mr. Pitcairn to the Rev. Mr. Ste- 
venson (p. 124) , referring to the day preceding 
the death of Mr. Howell : 

"On Wednesday the 3rd instant, he sunk 
into a stupor; he could scarcely articulate, and 
was almost insensible. His wife tried to con- 
verse with him, but he could not attend to her ; 
she offered to read the Bible, but he was in- 
capable of listening; he complained that he 
had not been able to think of God. In the 
course of the evening, Dr. Battersby and Dr. 
Madden were both with him, and saw that he 
could not long survive. Dr. Madden asked 
him how all was within. Howell did not un- 
derstand him at first; he seemed to imagine 
that the question was professional, and referred 



8 ON A MEMOIR OF 

to the state of his body; but when Madden 
explained that he was inquiring about the state 
of his mind; he replied in a whisper so faint as 
only to be heard by the application of the ear 
to his face, 6 O ! there has been a wonderful 
change ! — wonderful — wonderful ! 9 and, as if 
lost in. the contemplation of what he was ex- 
periencing, and of what he was expecting of 
God^s love to him, he went on repeating the 
word e wonderful 9 for about the space of a 
minute. He attempted to say something more. 
Dr. Madden thinks he caught the word c peace ; 9 
but he could not be sure, as the voice was so 
feeble. He never spoke again ! 99 

This is truly an affecting description of the 
last moments of Mr. Howell : he could scarcely 
articulate, was almost insensible, incapable of 
listening, and his medical friends plainly saw 
that he could not long survive. When - Dr. 
Madden asked him " how all was within," his 
dying patient " did not understand him at first ; 
he appeared to imagine that the question was 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 9 

professional, and referred to the state of his 
body/' Surely then it would have evinced a 
more kind and compassionate feeling, had the 
Doctor permitted Mr. Howell to consider that 
the inquiry applied merely to his bodily ail- 
ments; as it was plainly the sense in which 
he had received it. He had previously been 
unsparing in the disclosure of the religious 
omissions of his past life, and had expressed 
deep sorrow and repentance; and to carry on 
these painful investigations until the powers of 
utterance failed, was something like an attempt 
to extort the last dregs of self-condemnation 
from a fellow-mortal, whose greatest sin ap- 
pears to have been a too lavish indulgence in 
scientific pursuits, — lecturing upon and explain- 
ing subjects on some of which his scrutinizers 
most probably held similar opinions with him- 
self, — and more especially with respect to one 
particular branch of science — that grand opposer 
of Holy Writ, the Solar System, — on which 
Mr. HowelPs opinion had been thus expressed 



10 



ON A MEMOIR OF 



in a letter to a friend, 1 — that "he did not 
believe in the Theory of Newton as an ab- 
solute fact, neither did the liberal learned of 
the present day believe so." 

We know not whether the invalid's clerical 
friend at Torquay be of the liberal learned 
class, though, judging from the tenor of one 
of the three hymns chosen for his consolation, 
to be read or sung in his hearing, we should 
pronounce him not to be of that class of 
which Mr. Howell spoke ; since we conclude, 
that none but those who firmly believed in the 
truth of the Newtonian hypothesis would con- 
nive at its being brought thus into the temple. 

It runs as follows : 

" Jesus, thy blood and righteousness 
My beauty are, my glorious dress ; 
Midst flaming worlds, in these array'd, 
With joy shall I lift up my head." 

The writer of ' Letters-Memorial 9 observes 
(p. 122) - 



1 The author of these Observations on ' Letters-Memorial.' 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 11 

" These hymns (alluding to the three) having 
been chosen in preference to many others, give 
a pleasing indication of the current of Mr. 
HowelPs thoughts, and of the frame of his own 
mind. Christ, his blood and righteousness, 
was all his dependence, all his hope, all his 
salvation," &c. 

It is worthy of notice, how, in the remark 
just quoted, the last two lines of this peculiar 
hymn are passed over in silence, — left as a 
mere dead letter! We however admire the 
modesty and caution of the reverend gentleman 
in not giving an echo of the latter part of the 
verse, but merely announcing on the invalids 
account, as the impression produced on his 
mind, that " Christ, his blood and righteousness, 
was all his hope" fyc. The joy of lifting up his 
head 6 midst flaming worlds' sank into nothing ! 
It may be questioned, whether the reverend 
gentleman, conscientiously reflecting that Christ 
was not to be made a handle of to bolster up 
any portion of Newtonian theory, did not 



12 ON A MEMOIR OF 

quietly let the bit of science drop, the more 
particularly if not able to aver that it cor- 
responded with Mr. HowelPs own convic- 
tions. 2 What a horrid idea for any one to con- 
template, — to lift up his head with joy at the 
sight of worlds, and of course their inhabitants, 

2 The reverend visitor (p. 121) gives us to understand in re- 
gard to Mr. Howell, that at this period " he could read very little 
at a time being, of course, unable to search into a hymn-book, 
or any other, to make selections for himself. He further says 
with regard to the invalid's intention, that " were his life spared, 
he said he would give himself up to the study of the Bible ; and 
as it was only small portions of it he could at present read, he 
asked me to recommend what might be most profitable to him. 

" Here it is proper to mention, that on the second Sunday 
after I began to visit him, a hymn had been sung in Trinity 
Church, which I thought calculated to speak • comfort to his 
heart ; so I put the hymn-book into my pocket and went to see 

him after service The hymn I read is the 175th, 

beginning, — 

1 My God, my Father, blissful name ! 
may I call Thee mine ! 
May I, with sweet assurance, claim 
A portion so divine ! ' 

" He was delighted with these sentiments, and this hymn 
continued to be one of three favourites which his wife was 
often requested to read, and occasionally to sing in his hearing. 

" Another is the 248th ; — 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 13 

in a condition of being consumed to ashes ! as 
the term 'flaming' conveys; — the more par- 

' Stricken, smitten, and afflicted, 

See him dying on the tree ! 
'Tis the Christ by man rejected, 
Yes, my soul, 'tis he, 'tis he ! ' 

"And the last that he listened to was the 140th:" — that 
which we have quoted above, and which seems to have required 
two good ones to pioneer it. The composer must have had 
some difficulty in bringing in the last two lines. They are. bad 
poetry, and bad also in principle, for what has Christ's blood and 
righteousness to do with a fragment of Newton's hypothesis ? 
No greater opposites were ever set together, the one a confirmer 
of the Word, the other its strong opposer. We give another 
version, in which the spirit of the last two lines may be re- 
tained, as thus : — 

Newton, thy code and righteousness 
My beauty are, my glorious dress ; 
Midst flaming worlds, in this adorn, 
With joy shall I lift up my horn ! 

It is written, " the horn of the righteous shall be exalted." In 
our hymn the allusion is to the scientific horn. As to the 
anticipation of joy which the hymn holds out, its nature 
depends entirely upon whether Christ or Newton be the 
Truth ! Besides, are not all the stars, according to as- 
tronomers, stated to be worlds ? and they maintain that our 
earth is among the number ; consequently, if they flame, so 
does ours ; and what advantage would it be for any one after 
death to be translated from one flaming world to find himself 



14 ON A MEMOIR OF 

ticularly when we consider, that the observer 
was to be in the garb of the Saviour. It would 



merely in the midst of others ? There is nothing heavenly in it 
that we can fancy. Mr. Howell was not in a state for discussion, 
or the 140th hymn would have heen canvassed over. He ex- 
pressed his delight at the sentiments contained in the 175th, and 
there is no doubt but that, and the next, were his favourites. 
He was not the man of science when on his death-bed. In the 
' Conclusion ' of ' Letters-Memorial] p. 143, we read, " After 
his mind had been enlightened in the knowledge of salvation by 
Jesus Christ our Lord, Mr. Howell himself remarked, that ' he 
felt as if he were only beginning to live.' This was a me- 
morable saying ; and its meaning is definite and intelligible. 
He felt that his past life had been misspent — he felt, that now 
he was in possession of new principles of action ; and that, in 
prosecuting even the same pursuits as formerly, he would be 
influenced by new motives. And had he been permitted to 
resume his elaborate researches into the numerous departments 
of natural science, and to transfuse into all of them the true 
spirit of Christianity, he might have shone before men as a 
Christian philosopher with a bright and attracting lustre," &c. 

Mr. Howell could not have prosecuted his pursuits on the 
same plan as formerly ; for this reason, that if he received the 
truth as it is in Jesus, He (Jesus) according to Scripture being 
both God and man, is stamped not only as the giver of the Com- 
mandments but as the sole inspirer of the Word. Hence neither 
geology nor astronomy could have been pursued by Mr. Howell 
on the same plan as formerly. We may fairly inquire whether 
they can in the present day be rightly pursued by any one who is 
tenaciously alive to the title of " Christian philosopher," except 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 15 

be attributing to Him a 'preparation of unsightly 
appearances, rather than of heavenly harmony 
and peace. These 'flaming worlds' are not 
authorized either to be read or sung in the 
service of divine worship, being merely of 
scientific invention, yet, no doubt, they would 
recall to Mr. HowelFs recollection his once 
favourite study — astronomy. But the keen 
sensibility incident to his present situation, and 

the pursuer abide by the vouchings of that personage in whom 
(according to revelation) was both God and man ? In the 
Apipendix, when speaking of the manhood and Godhead of our 
Saviour, after adducing quotations from the Old and New 
Testaments to corroborate the fact, it is remarked, (p. 169) — 
" All these quotations from the prophets, and evangelists, and 
apostles, when grouped together and arranged in juxtaposition, 
present an interesting mass of evidence. And their united 
testimony most incontrovertibly establishes the fact, that our 
Almighty Saviour was ' of the seed of David according 
to the flesh,' — that he was a true man, and a man truly 
connected with the existing race of mankind : — 1 the seed of 
the woman/ through the line of Abraham, and of David." 

Then, by the same rule of evidence, why are not the quotations 
from the same quarters, when grouped together, held to present 
an equally interesting mass of evidence when applied to the 
Works of Creation ? If they are declared to evidence the 
truth in the one, so it must be in the other. 



16 ON A MEMOIR OF 

his craving after divine truth purged from all 
hypothesis, together with his former avowal of 
the absence of positive truth in the theory of 
Newton, doubtless caused him to pass in silence 
(as beneath his notice) this strange interloper 
of 'flaming worlds.' He might smile within 
himself, and leave the tainted lines for others. 

At page 121, Letter the 5th, on which our 
observations have hitherto been made, the 
reverend gentleman remarks in regard to Mr. 
Howell, — " I remember his once saying to me 
that he wished to reserve all his strength for 
the pure Word of God" and that "were his 
life spared, he would give himself up to the 
study of the Bible." We will venture then 
to say that had his life been spared, possessing 
the keen research and unwearied application so 
decidedly belonging to his character, and 
conscientiously feeling that his recovery was 
in consequence of his promise to God, Mr. 
Howell would soon have had abundant ma- 
terials in opposition to that system of which 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. I'J 

flaming worlds form a part; and the result 
might perhaps have been, a splendid Lecture 
in MS., which no doubt would have been sent 
to his friends at Torquay in evidence of the 
"wonderful change" which their arguments 
had wrought. This, to say the least of it, would 
have disturbed their favourite hypothesis as an 
electric shock, and probably would have given 
unpardonable offence; as we have found by 
experience, that the clergy, in general, are 
more strenuously devoted to the theory of 
Newton than any other class of society. 

The following extract from the writings of 
an author who has given to the world several 
erudite and elaborate volumes on theological 
subjects, is one among many evidences we 
could produce in proof of this assertion. In 
the work entitled 'Lowell Lectures on 
the Evidences of Christianity, by John 
Gorham Palfrey ; with a Discourse on the Life 
and Character of John Lowell, jun., by Edward 
Everett/ — under the head of 6 Internal and 
b 



18 on a memoir of 

External Evidences of Christianity/ 
the author remarks (vol. i. pages 22 and 23), — 
" On how many subjects could any one say, 
that the belief he entertains is the result of 
thorough, independent investigation? I give 
up my health, and the health of those who are 
dearest to me, to the care of one, of whose 
science I know nothing from studies of my 
own. My all of earthly happiness depends 
upon the correctness of the treatment which 
he shall adopt; in other words, upon the cor- 
rectness of the opinions which he has been led 
to entertain, and of which he is now to make 
an application. I know very little even of the 
structure of the frame on which he is to act, 
yet less of the virtue of his drugs, and less still 
of their adaptation to existing symptoms. 
What I do know is, that he is a man of 
intelligence and probity, — one who is capable, 
and has been desirous, of arriving at the truth, 
upon subjects which he has had suitable oppor- 
tunities to examine; that his conclusions are 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 19 

similar to what others, with similar advantages, 
have reached; and that nothing is known to 
me, in respect to the nature of those con- 
clusions, or otherwise, to render them im- 
probable; and with this, I feel conscious of 
acting reasonably in adopting his conclusions 
as mine, in a case of the highest interest and 
responsibility. So I believe in the truth of the 
received theory of the Solar System. So firmly 
am I convinced of it, that / hope I should go to 
the stake sooner than profess disbelief. But 
how am I convinced of it ? Is my persuasion 
the result of my own independent, thorough 
investigation of the subject ? Could I produce 
a demonstration, the moment I should be 
challenged ? On the contrary, I fear it would 
not require a very skilful disputant to perplex 
and silence me. My unhesitating belief upon 
this subject rests upon the same basis, as my 
belief upon many others. I believe what is 
declared, because they who have studied the 
subject profoundly, represent it as the result of 



20 ON A MEMOIR OF 

their investigations; and because I know, on 
the one hand, that I have nothing to oppose to 
its truth, and, on the other hand, that whatever 
I have ascertained by individual inquiry, ac- 
cords with and confirms it." He remarks 
further, — "There is no reason whatever for 
supposing that Christianity, if designed to be 
received at all, was designed for reception upon 
any different principles of belief, from what 
create belief in other cases." 

Upon the strong expression contained in the 
above passage being mentioned to another 
person, the natural remark it elicited was — 
" Had he said he would sooner go to the stake 
than profess disbelief in the Saviour, it would 
not have been so surprising." 

It will be admitted, then, that we have cause 
for thinking that ministers of the Church are 
devoutly devoted to the Newtonian hypothesis. 
But the analogy attempted to be shown in the 
above extract is imperfect; for the trust reposed 
in a medical adviser is borne out and supported 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 21 

by the experience of other cases, and confirmed 
by numerous instances in the practice both 
of himself and others, while the demand for 
belief in the hypothesis in question is devoid 
of any such evidence, and is in opposition to 
the daily experience of the senses. 

As to the term pure Word of God, it can 
mean no other than the Word unmutilated 
and untouched by the lancet of science. At 
the time Mr. Howell made use of that expres- 
sion, there cannot be the shadow of a doubt 
but that opposing science was present to his 
then purified and pious mind. 

It however appears to us, from the tenor of 
some part of the discourses of his reverend 
visitor, that his friends at Torquay imagined 
his delinquency rested solely on his want of 
faith in the Saviour and his doctrines; and 
in regard to doctrine, much may be said : 

1st. May we not presume that any part of 
the Scriptures to which Christ referred, and 
which he adduced as containing precepts for 



22 



ON A MEMOIR OF 



the guidance of those whom he addressed^ 
should be regarded as thereby constituting 
his doctrine, and should be received as truth, 
with the same implicit reverence which at- 
taches to his personal teachings ? He, whose 
whole words and deeds were devoted to the 
inculcation of simplicity and truthfulness, and 
whose entire life was a testimony to the truth, 
would certainly not have referred his hearers 
to the guidance of teachings which were false. 
Yet, when reproving the Pharisees, he referred 
to the admonition of Abraham, — in answer to 
the prayer of the rich man that he would 
send Lazarus to testify unto the brethren 
left in his father's house, so that they might 
be guided in the right way, (Luke xvi. 29,) — 
(e They have Moses and the Prophets ; let them 
hear them." 

Here we find no exceptions made to any 
part of their narratives ; and as the system of 
creation and the principles on which it is 
founded form a large portion of their revela- 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 23 

tions, (a false idea of the distribution of the 
heavenly host being the idolatry and sin of 
Israel,) it is then reasonable to conclude that 
the announcements of that inspired class to 
whom the Saviour referred in the words of 
Abraham, contain the, truth and demand im- 
plicit belief. 

2nd. We must recollect also that those 
narratives contain the Commandments, wherein 
it is stated that no resemblance of the heavens 
is to be made ; and likewise, that in six days the 
creation was finished. Can it be supposed 
that the Saviour was ignorant of the plan of 
creation, and the time it took in the completion ? 
when it is written of him — "By whom all 
things were made." When referring the people 
to Moses and the Prophets, had they been wrong 
in such essential points, then was the time 
for them to have been pointed out, which no 
doubt would have been done, had the case 
required it. If we believe Jesus Christ to 
have been of divine nature, we should not 



24 ON A MEMOIR OF 

doubt his knowledge regarding the works of 
God. 

Now it is but fair that the invalid's reverend 
visitor or visitors should be required to test 
their obedience to the tenets pointed out by- 
Christ himself in his reference to Old Testa- 
ment vouchings. This, we suspect, would be 
a most tremendous conflict for them to en- 
counter ! Their darling Newtonian logic of 
ifs, probablys, possiblys, snpposings, imaginings, 
flaming worlds, fyc> on the hypothetical scheme 
of creation, must be relinquished if they pre- 
tend to be true followers of the Captain of 
their Salvation. There is only this alternative : 
they must either dispute His knowledge, — 
accuse Him of inattention in not rectifying 
Moses and the Prophets to the tune of Newton, 
— or abide by the rectitude of His reference. 

In regard to the Word of God, the Rev. D. 
Pitcairn, in his first letter to the Rev. J. 
Stevenson, makes the following admission, 
(Let.-Mem. p. 65 :) — " The introduction of 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 25 

light is the only way to dispel darkness," and 
then gives us to understand what species of 
light will do it. "The Word of God is the 
sword of the Spirit, and that is the weapon 
wherewith we shall most surely scare away 
all spiritual enemies." And may we not also 
with that peculiar weapon of light scare away 
the impurities of modern philosophy ? The 
Word of God, or, as the reverend writer styles 
it, the sword of the Spirit, announces the 
stability of the Earth and the Sun's circuit. 
Now, in the contradicting of these things, may 
not modern science be deemed a spiritual 
enemy? The announcement of the Sun's 
circuit and the Earth's stability, are they not 
as much the sword of the Spirit as any other 
of the declarations of Holy Writ ? 

A vocabulary of sentences from Scripture, 
stating which are false and which are true, 
would be useful, and might at the same time 
give us to understand by what authority cer- 
tain passages relative to the Works of God 



26 ON A MEMOIR OF 

are to be glossed over and twisted from their 
original meaning. The supposed motion of the 
Earth, (that engenderer of a plurality of worlds 
— -flaming worlds into the bargain,) is the well- 
known pivot on which the Solar System stands , 
• — and the sword of the Spirit, agreeably to 
the Rev. Mr. Pitcairn's definition of its powers, 
stands unsheathed against it. 

But to return to Letter the 5th, where we 
are informed of Mr. Howell's devotedness to 
Biblical themes. The learned writer says 
(p. 121), — "His love for the Holy Scriptures 
became great; their sublime truths absorbed 
his attention, to the exclusion of chemistry and 
botany, which were very favourite subjects of 
experiment and investigation. 5 ' We are not 
aware that the sciences of chemistry or botany 
contradict the Scriptures, which rather re- 
quire us to view and contemplate the objects 
that the latter science explores, as in the 
sentence — " Behold the lilies of the field/' 
which may be said to apply equally to flowers 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 27 

and herbs of all descriptions. But why keep 
in exclusion the other two sciences — geology and 
astronomy — equally favourites of Mr. Howell, 
and really at variance with the sublime truths 
which then absorbed the invalids attention, 
as Mr. H. well knew, even in the midst of 
his literary career ? Were we to express our 
suspicions, we should inquire whether to the 
reverend gentleman, the bare mention of geo- 
logy and astronomy so near to that avowal — 
that the sublime truths of the Holy Scriptures 
absorbed Mr. HowelPs attention to the exclu- 
sion of chemistry and botany — might not have 
had the appearance of excluding those subjects 
also, in which case the invalid's then testimony 
might have probed the visitor rather too deeply. 
However, these insidious withdrawals in order 
to hide or keep in secret for a season the sin 
that so easily besets, are a strong proof that 
conscience does not carry us out boldly in all 
our extremities when striving to support the 
idol-bubble — the Solar System. 



28 



ON A MEMOIR OF 



Towards the close of this 5th letter which 
the Rev. D. Pitcairn addressed to the Rev. J. 
Stevenson, we read as follows (p. 126) : 

" And now, my dear friend and brother, after 
perusing this simple and faithful record of the 
closing scene, surely you will acknowledge that 
dear Howell, in his last moments, did give 
forth a testimony which hath redounded, and 
will yet redound, to the glory of God." 

The volume which Mr. Howell's testimony 
hath produced is undoubtedly, as we have 
before observed, interesting and affecting. That 
testimony which hath redounded to the glory of 
God, is solely in consequence of its accordance 
with the Word, and therefore its condemnation 
of all that opposeth. 

Yes, Mr. Howell's testimony, in our humble 
opinion, will ever, to the devotee of modern 
philosophy and speculative science, convey a 
most humiliating lesson. The nothingness of 
human wisdom, when pretending to elucidate 
the works of God in the volume of the skies 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 29 

on opposite principles to the Word and the 
Works, which visibly tally, stands confessed ! 

Mr. Howell, when in health and vigour, was, 
as it were, a pillar of science, the support 
afforded by which, when on the bed of sick- 
ness, he anxiously spurned. Nevertheless, we 
can never make up our mind to believe that 
the publishing the whole of his testimony to 
the world would have coincided with his own 
wishes. Taking even a single instance, the 
testimony of the 4th letter (at p. 103) to the 
Rev. J. Stevenson, strongly convinces us of 
this. The subject, it seems, that troubled 
the invalid's mind at that time, was, whether 
he should be responsible to God for dreams 
which he might have, but which, to his waking 
thoughts, were abhorrent. From Mr. Howell's 
justly -reputed character for strong sense and 
keen sensibility, is it not natural to suppose 
that he would have recoiled from so childish 
an exposition of himself being published to the 
world ? It is very true that his suffering state 



30 



ON A MEMOIR OF 



required a solace ; and in the soothing converse 
of his clerical friends he found that comfort. 
They drew him out as it were to speak with 
unbounded confidence. But the question is, are 
we to conclude that the dying sufferer had the 
least idea that not only his sayings, but his 
actions accompanying those sayings, were to be 
pourtrayed in their strongest colours to the 
world ? We will quote from the passage re- 
ferred to : — 

"I found him/' says the Rev. Mr. Pitcairn, 
" very weak. He spoke in a whisper. In 
answer to inquiries, he told me that his mind 
was very composed, and he had had a heavenly 
night. 6 My dreams/ he said, c were full of 
religion ; my mind was occupied with God, and 
I had a sweet night. It was heavenly; but/ 
he continued, c the night before it was quite 
otherwise with me ; my dreams were full of 
sin. 5 As he thus spoke he became agitated; 
his countenance assumed an expression of in- 
dignant distress and repulsion ; he withdrew 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 31 

one of his hands from under the bed-clothes, 
and, moving it rapidly backwards and forwards, 
as if driving from him some hated object, he 
added, i my dreams were of things that are 
utterly abhorrent to my waking desires/ Then, 
calming himself, he said, ( 1 wish you to tell 
me if I am responsible for these dreams; if 
I am to be considered as the perpetrator of 
such wickednesses ? 3 Of course/ 5 remarks the 
reverend gentleman, "I had no hesitation in 
relieving his anxiety on this point." 

We cannot in any way retract our first 
opinion, namely, that Mr. Howell would have 
shrunk from so weak an exposure. The 
singular developements of the latter part of 
this testimony were better calculated for a 
private memoir than a printed book. We can 
never be persuaded to believe that he would 
have consented to such an exposition, even had 
he been asked the question in his then weak- 
ened and suffering state. We have been in- 
formed that several thousand copies of £ Letters- 



32 ON A MEMOIR OF 

Memorial 9 have been sold in a few weeks. 
Among the number of purchasers, in all proba- 
bility many may have fallen into the hands 
of gentlemen equally enthusiastically devoted 
to the whole range of the sciences as was the 
subject of the memoir in their possession. 
What then must they think on finding a 
scientific brother reduced to such poverty of 
mind as we discover from the inquiries with 
respect to dreams ? the more particularly, when 
emanating from one, who only a few weeks, 
or at most only a few months before, had been 
considered of gigantic attainments in all the 
departments of literature and science, — even, 
as it is reported of him (Let.-Mem. p. 30, note), 
that "he trod their paths with confidence, 

perseverance, and success. His genius 

soared into heaven, and told the stars ; de- 
scended into the sea, and explored the deep ; 
expanded over the earth, and comprehended 
the three kingdoms in its grasp." We repeat 
again, what must other cultivators of science 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 33 

think of the rapid failure and sudden change of 
this once, and recently, Herculean professor of 
earthly wisdom, competent to soar into heaven 
— to tell the stars — to explore the deep, even 
with confidence and success, so soon, as it were 
in the twinkling of an eye, fallen from the 
topmost branch of all the sciences — Modern 
Astronomy — to take refuge in the precepts of 
that Book which announces its condemnation 
with awful severity ! 

Ah ! Howell's testimony, take it in all its 
bearings, is a searcher, but those who may 
feel touched will rarely quote from the book. 
Privately studied, however, some advantage 
might be gained from the experience it records ; 
for instance, a person, even similarly situated 
to our late learned and respected friend, the 
subject of c Letters -Memorial/ might in sick- 
ness receive the visits of a minister for the 
comfort of religious converse, and pay all due 
deference and respect to his sacred character, 
without disclosing every little and trifling act 
c 



34 ON A MEMOIR OF 

formerly thought of or done, that might arise 
in the mind. We know not what others may 
think, but our view of the case is, that inward 
prayer addressed to the throne of grace, where 
the power solely rests to grant forgiveness, 
might give the greatest internal satisfaction, 
knowing that our secret supplications were in 
the highest and most trustworthy custody ; in 
fact, in the only place where the minister him- 
self would recommend them to be directed ! 

With respect to Mr. Howell himself, we 
have received from him frequent communi- 
cations in writing at different times and on 
various subjects, and are therefore nearly as 
well acquainted with his excellent talents and 
the bent of his mind as any other of his Bath 
friends. 

During his first illness, and about ten days 
prior to his first journey to Torquay, he 
favoured us with a very long epistle, filling 
several sheets of paper. It was in consequence 
of our having presented for his acceptance a 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 35 

little volume, wherein some objections were 
raised against the theory of the Solar System, 
that, in acknowledging the receipt of the book, 
he took the opportunity of pleading in favour 
of what it condemned. Of course, all the usual 
Newtonian logic, with its concomitant labyrinth 
of supposings, &c, was brought into full play, 
though with Mr. Howell it was rather more 
varied, not quite so much the parrot-like chatter 
as we find it in the common mode of expla- 
nation and defence. The remarks in his letter, 
although favouring the hypothesis, were candid 
and conscientious. We quote from the docu- 
ment in question, in which he says — 

"The liberal learned do not in the present 
day affirm the positive, the abstract truth, of 
any part of, much less an entire science. They 
consider that Truth resides only in One ! " 

Again,— 

"The faculties of man are limited in their 
operation, and no one who justly considers 
this can arrogate to himself the claim to the 



36 ON A MEMOIR OF 

possession of Truth. I speak of course of that 
which is strictly related to man. This being 
understood^ it will be perceived that the af- 
firmation of the truth of a doctrine implies 
merely that it has the greatest amount of pro- 
babilities in its favour, such depending on the 
aggregate of such evidence as has already been 
collected. Now though this is sufficient for all 
the practical operations of society, and justifies 
its selection and belief, yet it by no means 
implies a belief in the absolute truth of the 
doctrine itself ; in many instances the attain- 
ment of this is impossible, — the nature of our 
faculties forbids it." 

Nothing can be more candid than the above ; 
nevertheless, with respect to any thing which 
for its truth merely depends upon the greatest 
amount of probabilities in its favour, such a 
theory is not sufficiently proved to our mind to 
justify decided belief. When he observes that 
" the nature of our faculties forbids it," that is, 
— our arriving at the incontestable Truth of 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 37 

what we are aiming at, — is it not the same 
thing as owning that the nature of the subject 
forbids it likewise ? 

Another remark he makes is, — 

" It is usual to suppose that any hypothesis 
(say the Newtonian for example) which is 
generally received as satisfactory is in itself 
true. This is by no means the case ; — Newton 
did not suppose so — Woodward did not sup- 
pose so, nor Herschel, nor Airy, — nor do any 
of the most learned astronomers suppose so." 

More might be quoted, but what has been is 
sufficient for any one to declare unhesitatingly, 
that the Newtonian hypothesis of the Solar 
System is a valueless teaching ! It may be 
selected for the purpose of experiments if 
philosophers choose it, but surely they cannot 
expect us to be so foolishly credulous as to 
believe as Truth what they do not even suppose 
to be so ! 

If they admit, as Mr. Howell has stated, that 
Truth resides only in One ! why not receive 



38 ON A MEMOIR OF 

the inspired Scriptural account, which we are 
taught to believe proceeded from that One ? 
The more particularly, since, by their own 
admission, it is not to be found in hypothesis. 
If it be neither in Scripture nor hypothesis, 
where is the road to meet with it ? Ah ! the 
bewilderment of hypothetical mathematics fled 
from his vision in more serious moments. Into 
HowelPs penitent heart, that 140th hymn 
never penetrated like the 175th. It could 
not. The extracts taken from his own letter 
are sufficient to convince any one, and operate 
as a point-blank decision against it ! 

There is not a stronger delusion in existence 
than this said Theory of the Solar System. 
Volumes are written, and lectures are given on 
the subject^ although (as already admitted by 
its advocates) Truth is not even supposed to 
belong to it. How foolishly credulous then 
are those who read their books and attend their 
lectures ! 

Some of the supporters of the system occa- 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 39 

sionally ridicule certain passages and figurative 
expressions which are met with in the Bible. 
Thus Mr. Howell started the opinion, " that 
the Psalms being poetry, a licence is admitted 
for figurative expression ; 99 and that " any de- 
claration contained in the Psalms of the stead- 
fastness of the earth and motion of the sun, &c., 
may fall under the same predicament. 99 He 
then remarks, " It may only be necessary to 
observe that many great and learned and 
pious men have determined that in many 
parts of the Holy Text, and in the Psalms in 
particular, the interpretation cannot be literal/' 
We readily coincide with the learned and 
pious in this particular, in so far, that there are 
many passages in Holy Writ which cannot be 
taken literally ; as also with Mr. Howell, where 
in his letter he introduced expressions from 
the Psalms which could not possibly be taken 
in a literal sense. But this we have to observe, 
that, if the declaration of the motion of the 
sun cannot be taken literally, when we cannot 



40 ON A MEMOIR OF 

deny that we see the reality, we might as well 
consign the Psalms to metaphor altogether. It 
is however pretty evident what the drift was, 
namely, the aiding their favourite hypothesis, — 
by endeavouring to convince us that Scripture 
should seldom be received as it is written. 

From the New Testament he also culled the 
following : ee The Saviour himself says that he 
is a vine, a door, &c. ; not even that he is like 
one, but that he is one;" and then observes — 
" it appears to me, that true religion and well- 
founded confidence in the truth of the divine 
origin of the Holy Scriptures, &c, are com- 
patible with the admission of a figurative 
meaning for certain passages of the inspired 
volume." 

Now if we inquire, for what purpose is all 
this labour in bringing forward from the Holy 
Scriptures metaphorical sentences, the answer 
must be, — to set aside all that interferes with 
their favourite idol — the Solar System ! 

In Mr. Howell's altered state of mind, it is 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 41 

worthy of notice, that neither the door nor the 
vine extorted a quibble ; so far from it, that even 
the very metaphorical door which had once 
been brought in to the aid of science, was in 
after times anxiously sought and received, al- 
though it be in reality its opposer! 

When we reflect that the theory of Newton 
is taught in all quarters of the civilized world, 
whilst at the same time it is well known to be 
the strong opposer of what is acknowledged to 
be the inspired volume, and to contain what we 
are taught to believe is the Word of God, — 
does it not fall under what St. Paul, in his 
second epistle to the Thessalonians, styles the 
"strong delusion, that they should believe a 
lie?" There are many symptoms mentioned 
from the 3rd to the 11th verse of the 2nd 
chapter of that Apostle's communication, 
which wonderfully correspond with the traits 
that pertain to our reception of the Solar 
System. After exhorting the people to be 
steadfast in the word and not soon shaken 



42 ON A MEMOIR OF 

in mind, the Apostle says, (v. 3 and 4) — " Let 
no man deceive you by any means: for that 
day shall not come/' (alluding to the coming of 
Christ,) " except there come a falling away first, 
and that man of sin be revealed, the son of 
perdition, Who opposeth and exalteth himself 
above all that is called God, or that is 
worshipped; so that he, as God, sitteth in 
the temple of God, showing himself that he 
is God." 3 He then declares (verses 7 to 11), 



3 At Torquay the opposer hath evidently got into the temple, 
into the voices of the congregation ! What is this but showing 
himself as it were on a footing with God ? Nay, more, it is robing 
the Saviour in the garb of a deceiver, or at any rate, to speak 
more mildly, placing the word of God on a footing for veracity 
with the theory of Newton, which is an hypothesis. It then 
reduces the righteousness of Christ to the same grade, as the 
hymn denotes — " Midst flaming worlds, in these " (the blood 
and righteousness) " array'd," &c. It is compelling the Saviour 
of mankind to put on the garb of an hypothesis, and therefore, 
exalting itself above all that is called God. 

That valueless teaching of a science which cannot be reduced 
to truth — not even supposed to be so, and yet, universally, 
believed — not only corresponds with the falling away from the 
spirit of the Word, but with the term "strong delusion;" 
as there cannot in existence be a stronger delusion than that of 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 43 

" For the mystery of iniquity doth already 
work : only he who now letteth will let, until 
he be taken out of the way. And then shall 
that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall 
consume with the spirit of his mouth, and 
shall destroy with the brightness of his coming : 
Even him whose coming is after the working of 
Satan, with all power and signs and lying 
wonders, and with all deceivableness of un- 
righteousness in them that perish; because 
they received not the love of the truth, that 
they might be saved. And for this cause God 
shall send them strong delusion, that they 
should believe a lie." 

The verses, 3, 4, J, 8, 9, 10, and 11, are 
quoted above. A little further on, it is intended 
to give the references in explanation of those 
singular announcements of St. Paul. In the 
mean time we take leave to say, that in the 
opinion that our idol system of the sun is that 



believing as a truth, what at the same time we are plainly told 
is not, so / 



44 ON A MEMOIR OF 

strong delusion mentioned by the Apostle, — 
we are not alone. In fact, may not all strong 
oppositions to the Word be considered as 
instigated by what the Apostle denominates 
the man of sin ? The symptoms, viz. the 
falling away from the tenets as first delivered, 
— are visible in the same falling away, — clinging 
to the tenets of the theory of Newton, — and 
savour strongly of relationship to the wicked 
opposer ! 

Several years ago a volume of Sermons in 
manuscript was lent for our perusal by the 
sister of the late Rev. Raby Williams, of the 
Island of Jamaica. They were excellent and 
interesting discourses. A degree of novelty 
was attached to them in consequence of their 
being interspersed more or less with reasons 
given, and exhortations used, to his con- 
gregation, to relinquish a system of creation 
which had for its foundation a stationary solar 
ruler, — contending that it was the main 
transgression of the Israelites. He was among 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 45 

the number of those who consider that Scrip- 
ture is its own expositor, if carefully studied 
with the assistance of its numerous references. 
From the tenor of his Discourses, it appeared 
that he had convinced himself that our modern 
astronomy was not only a most pernicious 
teaching, but that St. Paul's strong delusion 
was applicable to it. 

The length of time that has elapsed since 
the loan of the Discourses before mentioned 
precludes the possibility of quoting the reverend 
gentleman^s own words relative to his con- 
viction; but, as the Scriptures are still open 
to use in the same mode of investigation, 
we will select the references connected with 
the verses above quoted from the Apostle^s 
singular converse with the inhabitants of 
Thessaly. 

Verse 3. — "Let no man deceive you by any 
means : for that day shall not come/' (i. e. the 
coming of Christ,) "except there be a falling 



46 



ON A MEMOIR OF 



away first/ 11 and that man of sin 11 be revealed, 
the son of perdition; 

Reference™ — 1 Timothy iv. 1. "Now the 
Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter 
times some shall depart from the faith, giving 
heed to seducing spirits/ 5 &c. Those who per- 
chance may turn to this chapter will probably 
say, when reading the next verse, "There is 
nothing here relative to the system of creation." 
There are however, in the course of the epistle, 
commands to exhort and teach both faith and 
belief which are of course applicable to any 
important declaration, such for example as the 
sun's circuit. 

Reference^ — Daniel vii. 25. "And he shall 
speak great words against the Most High," &c. 
Do not the teachings of our modern astronomy 
speak great words against the Word of the Most 
High, and consequently bear the characteristics 
of the man of sin ? 

Reference — John xvii. 12. "While I was 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 47 

with them in the world, I kept them in thy 
name, — and none of them is lost, but the son 
of perdition, that the Scripture might be 
fulfilled." 

By this we learn, that disbelief and the 
falling away from the true faith were to be 
expected, or rather that it was prophesied that 
it would be so. Some are of opinion that the 
present are the latter times. Whether it be so 
or not, faith in the Word is on the decline ; 
and, what more likely to be the Instigator 
thereof than the personage alluded to by the 
Saviour, viz. the son of perdition ? 

Verse 4. — " Who opposeth and exalteth q 
himself above all that- is called God, or that is 
worshipped ; so that he, as God, sitteth in the 
temple as God, showing himself that he is God." 

Reference^ — Isaiah xiv. 13. "For thou 
hast said in thine heart/' (alluding to the son 
of perdition,) " I will ascend into heaven, I will 



48 ON A MEMOIR OF 

exalt my throne above the stars of God : I will 
sit upon the mount of the congregation, in the 
sides of the north." 

Similarly, we perceive, to our lecturers on 
the system of the sun, the Deceiver also hath 
to do with the heavenly Host; both of them 
unwarrantably exalting themselves above the 
stars of God. The former, indeed, acknow- 
ledge no stars, they are accounted worlds! 
Worlds and suns, and systems of the sun, are 
spread in imagination in all directions, in 
endless confusion, without either beginning 
or end, the expounders of them thereby 
arrogantly denying that the beautiful or- 
der of the creation was ever finished! And 
we may add, boldly singing in the temple. 
There is no species of literature or science 
in the present day that takes for the sphere 
of its investigation a station above the stars, 
except that of the theory of the Solar System, 
which, being on the very same foundation and 
principles as the Baalim or sun images of the 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 49 

apostate Israelites, — to which, in fact, our 
hitherto quoted references do refer, — they are 
equally applicable to Christendom's Baalim; 
and consequently, the strong delusion may 
be applied to both — to the idols of apostate 
Israel, and to that of Christendom. 

Verse 7« — " For the mystery of iniquity doth 
already work: c only he who now letteth will 
let, until he be taken out of the way." 

Reference* — 1st chapter of John, v. 4, 3. 
Verse 4. " In him was life ; and the life was 
the light of men." Verse 3. "All things were 
made by him; and without him was not any 
thing made that was made." 

It may then be presumed, that the personage 
herein alluded to could not be ignorant of the 
mode of the Works, and must have known 
whether Moses and the Prophets were correct. 
Let us seriously reflect: the iniquity doth al- 
ready work, — that is, it did work at that early 

D 



50 ON A MEMOIR OF 

period when the Apostle wrote. It also worketh 
now, causing a decrease of Faith in Scriptural 
Revelations. In what quarter did it work in 
the time of St. Paul ? Answer : — In the system 
of creation — the heavenly host. In what quarter 
doth it now work ? Answer : — Precisely in the 
same as in the Apostle's time. Doth it engen- 
der Belief? No, it labours to destroy it, and 
will remain for a time so to do, until it 
seemeth fit to Him, who now letteth, to take 
it away. 

Verse 8. — 66 And then shall that Wicked be 
revealed, whom the Lord shall d consume with 
the spirit e of his mouth/and shall destroy f with 
the brightness of his coming/' 

Reference^ — Daniel vii. 10, 11. Verse 10. 
"A fiery stream issued and came forth from 
before him: thousand thousands ministered 
unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand 
stood before him : the judgment was set, and 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 51 

the books were opened/ 5 Verse 11. "I beheld 
then because of the voice of the great words 
which the horn spake; I beheld even till the 
beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and 
given to the burning flame. 55 

Here we perceive that our Modern As- 
tronomy is a member of the Apocalyptic 
beast ! 

Reference e — Isaiah xi. 4. "But with righte- 
ousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove 
with equity for the meek of the earth: and 
he shall smite the earth with the rod of his 
mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall 
he slay the wicked. 55 

The personage alluded to in the above verse, 
agreeably to the context, is the rod that was 
to proceed out of the stem of Jesse; and we 
find that the rod of his mouth is not for the 
poor and meek; their lack of showy learning 
guards their faith. 

Reference f — Hebrews x. 27. "But a cer- 
tain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery 



52 



ON A MEMOIR OP 



indignation, which shall devour the adver- 
saries/ 5 

We are at a loss to know who may be 
deemed adversaries, except it be those who are 
enemies to the tenor of some important points 
of Holy Writ. There is no reference from 
verse 9, but being connected with the subject, 
we here repeat it: "Even him whose coming 
is after the working of Satan, with all power 
and signs and lying wonders — not at all 
inapplicable to a certain hypothesis working 
at present. 

Verse 10. — "And with all deceivableness j of 
unrighteousness in them that perish ; because 
they received not the love of the truth, that 
they might be saved." 

Reference 3 leads to Hebrews iii. 13, which 
single verse does not convey the full im- 
portance of the subject; and were we merely 
to refer the reader thereto, obstacles might pre- 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 53 

vent its being investigated throughout, either 
from the Bible not being at hand, or from dis- 
inclination to take the requisite trouble. We 
therefore give the whole of that chapter of 
St. Paul's address, as follows: "Wherefore, 
holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly 
calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest 
of our profession, Christ Jesus; Who was 
faithful to him that appointed him, as also 
Moses was faithful in all his house. For this 
man was counted worthy of more glory than 
Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the 
house hath more honour than the house. For 
every house is builded by some man; but he 
that built all things is God. And Moses 
verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, 
for a testimony of those things which were to 
be spoken after; But Christ as a son over his 
own house; whose house are we, if we hold 
fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the 
hope firm unto the end. Wherefore (as the 
Holy Ghost saith, To-day if ye will hear his 



54 ON A MEMOIR OF 

voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the pro- 
vocation, in the day of temptation in the 
wilderness; When your fathers tempted me, 
proved me, and saw my works forty years. 
Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, 
and said, They do alway err in their heart; 
and they have not known my ways. So I 
sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into 
my rest.) Take heed, brethren, lest there be 
in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in de- 
parting from the living God. But exhort one 
another daily, while it is called To-day ; lest any 
of you be hardened through the deceitfulness 
of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, 
if we hold the beginning of our confidence 
steadfast unto the end ; While it is said, To-day 
if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, 
as in the provocation. For some, when they had 
heard, did provoke : howbeit not all that came 
out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was 
he grieved forty years ? was it not with them 
that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 55 

wilderness ? And to whom sware he that they 
should not enter into his rest, but to them that 
believed not ? So we see that they could not 
enter in because of unbelief/ 5 

The above narrative solely refers to the 
system of creation, to the impropriety or rather 
sin of erecting an image of solar stability as 
the principle on which hypothetically they 
considered the universe to be founded. The 
Molten Calf, or Transgression of the Wilder- 
ness, was among the number of those erections 
styled Chammanim, sun images, also high 
places. We have seen a very ancient Hebrew 
book concerning the Passover, which was 
splendidly illustrated with paintings on vellum. 
Among the number was the Molten Calf, or 
Transgression of the Wilderness. The scene 
was on the mountains. On one of them stood 
a sun-surmounted pillar, fixing it in imagination 
to one spot, (the stamen of all Orreries.) At 
some distance from this were pourtrayed the 
moon and stars ; also on another of the heights 



56 



ON A MEMOIR OF 



was seen, mounted on a pedestal. Libra, one of 
the signs of the zodiac. Around the sun were 
seen men dancing in circles, which tallies with 
the remark of Moses, — "they madly danced 
around it" In fact, there were all the neces- 
sary articles to show in abstract a system 
founded on solar stability. It was vastly clever 
to depict their bodies round the luminary. It 
was going beyond hypothesis : — no Orrery ever 
showed such actual earthly circles. However, 
the idea of the distribution of the heavenly 
host is precisely the same in both, and the 
same in meaning, — a delineation of the house 
of God. It was the provocation in the 
Wilderness, which, as it is written, grieved the 
Lord forty years. And to whom swore he 
that they should not enter into his rest, but 
to them that believed not ? That is, they be- 
lieved not the system of creation as the Word 
of God declares ; therefore the Apostle says 
(at v. 13, the one referred to by the mar- 
ginal^, — "Exhort one another daily, while it is 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 57 

called To-day" (in case another should not be 
given,) " lest any of you be hardened through 
the deceitfulness of sin" — v. 14. " For we are 
made partakers of Christ, if we hold the begin- 
ning of our confidence steadfast unto the end." 
— v. 15. " While it is said, To-day if ye will 
hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the 
provocation" 

It is worthy of notice that the Apostle says, 
(v. 4,) ee For every house is builded by some 
man; but he that built all things is God." 
The builder, then, of the universe, agreeably 
to the Apostle, hath given a pretty clear ac- 
count of the cause which hindereth our recep- 
tion into the rest of God. At the time they 
erected the Molten Calf, it is written, — u For 
in their hearts they turned back into Egypt." 

We believe it is universally admitted, that 
from the Egyptians was obtained our science 
of Astronomy. That, first, it was transmitted 
to Greece, and from thence extended itself as 
we find it at this day. The Egyptian theory 



58 ON A MEMOIR OF 

of the universe was founded on a solar fixture. 
No. 2 of the annexed Plate was copied from 
one of Belzonr's. Hence, when it was said of 
the Israelites, or a majority of that multitude, 
that in their hearts they turned back into 
Egypt, we have decisive evidence that a sun- 
surmounted pillar was fresh in their memories. 
No. 1 was taken from the centre of a portable 
Orrery ; and in regard to that of Benaris, one 
of the Missionary plates furnished the object. 
It indicates great power, — the hand being sig- 
nificant of power, which, poising the sun — the 
circular twister — evidently shows that the 
barbarians (as we are sometimes pleased to 
call the Hindoos) were not behind-hand in the 
knowledge of the higher sciences. The whole 
of them are Chammanim. It is quite clear 
that the mystery of iniquity — the hypothesis 
of the Solar System — worked, according to St. 
Paul, in the congregation of the Thessalonians ; 
and that it worked in the time of Moses, at 
the period when the Commandments were 



Sun 




0^-72 H Chammanim, Sun images. 

nVrc vechammanim) : The groves and images shall not 
stand up." (Isaiah xxvii. 9.) Asherim, groves ; ren- 
dered certain idols, attributes of the material heavens. 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 59 

given, — as we read, that when Moses was up 
in the Mount, receiving the tables of stone 
with the writing of God thereon, he was bade 
to descend quickly: the people had corrupted 
themselves; they had turned aside from the 
way that God commanded, and made unto 
themselves a Molten Calf. Whether they 
made the figure of a calf or a sun-surmounted 
pillar, they are identically the same in mean- 
ing, when taken as a representative or principle 
of the system of creation. Any one even but 
little conversant with the Hebrew language 
will perceive that they are so. It would lead 
us into too great lengths at present to define 
it. There are two systems, viz., the system of 
the sun, and the system of the Lord ; the 
latter agreeable to revelation, and the former 
to man^s device. 

It must be observed, that when the children 
of Israel marched out of the land of bondage, 
they were accompanied by a strange mixture. 
Exod. xii. 38. "And a mixed multitude went 



60 ON A MEMOIR OF 

up also with them." Among this multitude 
there were certain apostates, disciples of the 
science of Egypt, who were instigators of the 
Transgression. The true Israelites were not 
on that side of the question, as is proved by 
the conference which Moses had with Aaron 
when he descended from the Mount. The 
former thus accosts the priest : (Exod. xxxii. 
21-28) — "What did this people unto thee, 
that thou hast brought so great a sin upon 
them ? And Aaron said, Let not the anger of 
my lord wax hot ; thou knowest the people, 
that they are set on mischief. .... Then Moses 
stood in the gate of the camp," (the ancient 
forum of the place,) " and said, Who is on the 
Lord^s side ? let him come unto me. And all 
the sons of Levi gathered themselves together 
unto him. And he said unto them, Thus 
saith the Lord God of Israel: Put every man 
his sword by his side, and go in and out from 
gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay 
every man his brother, and every man his 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 61 

companion, and every man his neighbour. 
And the children of Levi did according to 
the word of Moses ; and there fell of the people 
that day about three thousand men." 

This lamentable slaughter, we presume, is 
what St. Paul alludes to in the 16th and l?th 
verses of the 3rd chapter of his Epistle to the 
Hebrews. " For some, when they had heard, 
did provoke: howbeit not all that came out 
of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he 
grieved forty years? was it not with them 
that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the 
wilderness ? " 

Now when we seriously reflect on St. Paul's 
sayings (Heb. iii.) with respect to the High 
Priest, Jesus Christ, as being faithful to him 
that appointed him; then instantly referring 
to Moses, " as also Moses was faithful in all 
his house," — and afterwards remarking further 
— "And Moses verily was faithful in all his 
house, as a servant, for a testimony of things 
which were to be spoken after;" — although 



62 ON A MEMOIR OF 

it almost staggers our faith, that a merciful 
God should have sent forth an edict author- 
izing that tremendous slaughter, which Moses 
commanded to be done; yet, from the Apos- 
tle's referring to it in the manner he has 
done, we are constrained to believe as we 
have read. 

There cannot be a stronger proof of the 
tenaciousness of the Almighty as regards the 
touching his dwelling-place. It is, indeed, 
most awful! Well might the "Holy Ghost" 
exhort, saying, " To-day if ye will hear his 
voice" tyc. 

We are also incessantly reminded of this 
occasion in the church service, by the repe- 
tition of the 95th Psalm, where the injunction 
again occurs (v. 7* 8) '• " To-day if ye will hear 
his voice, harden not your heart, as in the 
provocation, and as in the day of temptation 
in the wilderness." 

It is evident that the important information 
resulting from reference j of v. 10 to Hebrews 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 63 

iii. 13 ? could not have been passed over with 
the quotation of that single verse, without 
losing an immense insight into the nature 
of the Transgression in question. 

We now arrive at the last verse referred 
to, the 11th. 

Verse 11. — "And for this cause 4 God shall 
send them strong delusion/ 1 that they should 
believe a lie." 

Reference* — Ezekiel xiv. 9. "And if the 
prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a 
thing, I the Lord have deceived that prophet; 
and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and 
will destroy him from the midst of my people 
Israel." 

The above seems difficult to reconcile with 
the justness of God, yet it tallies with the 

4 And for this cause, &c, — alluding seemingly to the mis- 
demeanours which the references from verses 3, 4, 7, 8, and 
10, have brought to light. 



64 



ON A MEMOIR OF 



11th verse above quoted from St. Paul. If 
we may presume to surmise, may it not be, 
that in consequence of the incessant provoca- 
tions of the people in adhering to the practice 
of their hypothetical system of creation, the 
Almighty — being weary of exhorting to no 
purpose — might resolve to send them their 
own delusion, in order that, as they were so 
prone to go counter to his precepts, they might 
go counter to their own idolatry, if they fancied 
they were bound to regard it in the light of 
a divine precept? 

We should have liked the remark that the 
Rev. Raby Williams would have made on this 
passage, but, as we cannot have that, let us 
consult the chapter to which reference is made, 
to ascertain the chief transgression spoken of, 
which is easily done under the head "Ex- 
hortation to repentance" 

Ezekiel speaks to the elders of Israel re- 
garding their misdemeanours. ( Chap. xiv. 
1-6.) " Then came certain of the elders of 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 65 

Israel unto me, and sat before me. And the 
word of the Lord came unto me, saying. Son 
of man, these men set up their idols in their 
heart, and put the stumbling-block of their 
iniquity before their face : should I be inquired 
of at all by them ? Therefore speak unto them, 
and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God ; 
Every man of the house of Israel that setteth 
up his idols in his heart, and putteth the 
stumbling-block of his iniquity before his face, 
and cometh to the prophet, I the Lord will 
answer him that cometh according to the 
multitude of his idols; That I may take the 
house of Israel in their own heart, because 
they are all estranged from me through their 
idols. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, 
Thus saith the Lord God ; Repent, and turn 
yourselves from your idols, and turn away your 
faces from all your abominations." 

In regard to that expression, (v. 9,) "I the 
Lord have deceived that prophet;" — it may 
be that the Almighty, seeing the proneness 

E 



66 



ON A MEMOIR OF 



of the people to erect their solar systems, 
permitted the iniquity for a time by way of 
testing their obedience to the announcements 
of Moses and the Prophets. It appears to 
be similar to that expression in St. Paul's 
Epistle to the Thessalonians, "he who now 
letteth will let, until he be taken out of the 
way." The latter part of the verse seems to 
authorize the assumption, as it says, "I will 
stretch out mine hand to destroy him/ 9 — as 
though the instigator which estranged from 
God, let it be in what mode it would, were 
to be taken out of the way. 

The idolatrous erections of the Israelites 
were of various structure, although in ideal 
meaning they were the same. It is written 
that Solomon built a high place for ti^lM 
Chamosh, from M cham, heat, and 12^ 5 yesh 9 

5 Every Hebrew scholar knows that letters which are pro- 
nounced by the same organ, change often one for the other, 
and that the letter 1 yod is generally changed into *\ vau, when 
preceded by any one of the letters "PflDDfc^n Heemantio. 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 67 

the Hebrew term for substance; therefore 
Chamosh is a compound signifying a substance 
of fire ; consequently Solomon's building was 
a high place for the solar fire, equivalent to a 
circulator, for that was the intent of all their 
Baalim or sun images. 

We will more completely scrutinize Solo- 
mon's idol further on, after first giving the 
definition of Nisroch and some others. Agree- 
ably to the representation in the Plate, there 
is an Assyrian idol called ta pD3 Nisroch; — a 
crowned statue, sitting on a throne, with the 
left hand extended, holding a sun; the right 
hand resting on a wheel, emblematic of re~ 
volvency. The word *pD2 6 Nisroch is fre- 
quently used for overseers or presidents over 
inferior governors. Therefore Nisroch was 

Now the word yesh begins with 1 yod, and is preceded by ^ 
mem ; therefore it is here changed into *) vau ; thus t^lOD 
instead of t^^I] — v ^ e Frey's Grammar, page 94. 

6 From the root ^*^D Sarach, signifying to abound in 
superfluity. 



68 ON A MEMOIR OP 

considered equivalent to Baal-Melech, that 
is, the king, the ruler. Baal-Melech was a 
general name in the Assyrian dialect for the 
solar fire : hence we trace another Solar System 
in Nisroch ! 

In the second book of Kings (c. xvii. v. 30) 
it is said, "The men of Cuth made 
Nergal" The word 12 Ner is a noun, signify- 
ing a light, and ^0 gal, to revolve; therefore 
Nergal, the idol of the men of Cuth, denoted 
the solar fire or light, considered as causing the 
revolution of the earth and other planetary 
bodies. 

Ibid. v. 31.— "The Avites made pmfl Ter- 
tek" The word Tertek is a compound of 
in Ter, to go about or explore, and pI"H retek, 
to swathe, gird round, as with a chain. It 
was intended to denote the heavens or celestial 
fluid (according to their idea) as carrying the 
earth and planets about in their orbits. Of 
course, we have another display of a Baal or 
Solar System in Tertek ! 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 69 

The above are a few only out of several 
of the same import, — all of them Israelitish 
Orreries ! There is also Bel, i. e. the sun, 
with his satraps around him. He is in grand 
style, as a sceptred ruler, with incense burner 
and libation cup. Those who attend lectures 
on the system of the sun offer incense at BePs 
altar. 

We now revert to the idol set up by Solo- 
mon : — Chemosh or Chamosh, the sceptred ruler, 
being emblematic of the sun, and, by his sit- 
ting on a throne or pedestal, constituting 
fixedness, tallies with the sun in the centre of 
our Orrery. In his right hand he wields six 
stars or planets, himself forming the seventh 
object, thus completing a Solar System ! Now 
suppose, an Orrery being upright, we change 
its position, and lay it down so as to form a 
portable Orrery ; it will be found that this 
machinery suits to a tittle the structure of 
King Solomon^s idolatrous image. Those six 
stars or planets, held in the hand of the solar 



70 ON A MEMOIR OF 

ruler, correspond with the six staves, bearing 
their planets, which clasp round the pole on 
which our sun is fixed in the portable Orrery, 
We must recollect also that our spiked sun, 
and their statue on the pedestal, are alike in 
functions; — each of them is the imagined cause 
of the motion of the earth. Solomon appears 
to be strongly devoted to his theory. He may 
perhaps show more devotion by the bend of 
the knee to his Orrery than we do in the 
presence of ours, but the only difference is 
that our devotion lies more concealed, being 
a prostration of intellect. Whether they gave 
lectures or not is of little consequence. 
To gaze in silent admiration at such objects 
is quite sufficient, as the most elaborate 
lecturers in the present day cannot prove 
the truth of their hypothesis. 

We are not to forget that our late learned 
and scientific friend, Mr. Howell, who was 
absorbed in the theory of Newton, admitted 
that it did not amount nearer to the truth 



SBennettSc 



2.KIWGS n Verfe 7 

ore tfe#wScUe> 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. *]\ 

than the greatest amount of probabilities car- 
ried it ! 

In mentioning the name of Newton, coupled 
with the assurance by one of his own dis- 
ciples, that his system cannot be proved 
to be true, we are reminded of the story 
relative to an apple falling on the head of 
that philosopher, which is said to have turned 
his thoughts to pry into the spheres. It was 
then in malum guise that he raised a subject 
for an Orrery or Diastrodoxon, which is no 
other than Ashtoreth in plain English charac- 
ters, and is identical with Solomon's idolatry, 
for which his kingdom was in part rended 
from him. 

We shall perceive, from the derivation of 
the word malum, that, in the fall of the apple 
on the head of Sir Isaac Newton, a deflection 
of the mind was produced. The derivation 
is as follows: Lat. malus, hence malum, 
an apple : Eng. mal, in composition, malice, 
malicious, &c. ; which words are all of them 



72 ON A MEMOIR OF 

derived from the Hebrew Maal, signifying 
to deflect, go aside, &c. It is used in the 
Hebrew Bible only in a moral or spiritual 
sense, for declining from a rule or law; and, 
as a noun, a declining from truth or duty, 
deflection, apostasy, and the like. 

The first syllable of Diastrodoxon is derived 
from the Hebrew word *H daye, which de- 
notes enough, sufficiency, plenty, or the like. 
It is spoken either of quantity or capacity; 
hence the Greeks derived their ais, Dis, 
whence Lat. Deus or Divus, the name of 
their all-sufficient God, the air or heavens. 
TM£t&\A Astared signifies propelling fire, con- 
sidered as causing the revolution of the 
planets; and the last syllable of this com- 
pound term, of dubious integrity, is from the 
Hebrew word gnetz or gnoz, which signi- 
fies an ox, — so called from the bony strength 
of that animal, — which word also completely 
classes it among the tribe of Baalim, as all 
their Baals were of the bovis kind. Among 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. *J3 

the number, Molech seems conspicuous. 

The word Molech signifies a king or ruler : 
it is the name of an idol worshipped by 
the Ammonites, and the apostate Israelites. 
" The Rabbins assure us that this idol was 
of brass, sitting upon a throne of the same 
metal, adorned with a royal crown, having 
the head of a calf, and his arms ex- 
tended as if to embrace any one: when 
they would offer any children to him, they 
heated the statue within by a great fire; and 
when it was burning hot, they put within his 
arms the miserable victim." Calmet also 
observes, " That from the substance of this 
idol, which was of brass or copper, from its 
having the head of a calf — the animal emblem 
of fire, — and being divided into seven parti- 
tions answering to the seven planetary spheres 
or orbits, (or, according to others, having 
seven chapels before it,) and from the horrid 
rites performed to it, it was intended as a 
representative of the solar fire. This is fur- 



?4 ON A MEMOIR OF 

ther confirmed by its name Molech, king; 
for as a king in his political capacity acteth 
where he is not, by means of others, so the 
solar fire in this system doth in some measure 
act where it is not, by means of the light 
which it is continually sending forth and 
putting in motion." 

Except in regard to the horrid rites per- 
formed to the above-described structure, it 
tallies with our own system of Baal the Sun ; 
both of them being Molechs, with their seven 
planetary spheres or orbits. We may extend 
ours as much as we please, but the regular 
complement for a Solar System is as above 
mentioned. Any extension will make it more 
nearly resemble the idol Nisroch, which, from 
the root Sarach, signifying to abound in 
superfluity, will accord with such enlarge- 
ment. Let us sum up these iniquitous stum- 
bling-blocks (and we have mentioned only a 
few out of the many) which the apostates 
set up in their hearts and set before their 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. *J5 

faces — all estranging from Jehovah. There 
is Solomon's Diastrodoxon, Assyria's Nisroch, 
C utiles Nergal, the Tertek of the Avites, Bel, 
and our Orrery, which must not be excluded, 
as there is no difference except in form. 
Baal or Bel, and Bal, are all related in sense 
as well as sound : Bel was a name by which 
the heathen, and particularly the Babylonians, 
called their arch-idol the heavens. It was 
merely another name for Solar System; all 
their celestial observations being founded on 
solar stability. They accord with modern 
theory; consequently ours is a link of the 
old transgression, by the adoption of which 
we consider the Sun as did the apostate 
Israelites and Babylonians, i. e. as Baal the 
ruler ! Probably it may be said, We do not 
worship ours as the heathen and ancient 
Hebrews did theirs. Where is the difference ? 
They did no more than go counter to the 
inspired testimony, and persevered in their 
provocations. But it may perhaps be urged^ 



76 ON A MEMOIR OF 

that in the present day we attribute the works 
of creation, in the mode we have imagined, to 
God, and are therefore in a very different con- 
dition from that of worshipping the works of- 
our own hands. In reply to this, we must ob- 
serve — If Jesus Christ were God, as the New 
Testament declares, then He was the inspirer 
of the entire Testimony, and what motive 
could He have for becoming a Deceiver ? He 
was the inspirer of Moses and the Prophets, 
as also of the Royal Psalmist, who hath clearly 
announced the circuit of the sun, and the 
stability of the earth. The question is, if he 
were Divinity itself, as we are taught to 
believe, — is it not the height of presumption 
and audacity in us to set up an image of his 
Works in opposition to his Principles ? 

In Exod. xx. 24, we read as follows : " An 
altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and 
shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and 
thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen : 
in all places where I record my name I will 




The Altar of Earth.. 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 77 

come unto thee, and I will bless thee. 55 The 
composer of the annexed Plate has admirably 
expressed in it the Almighty's intent regarding 
the station which the earth holds in the system 
of creation, — to instil into the minds of the 
people that revolutions surrounded it. It was 
called an altar of earth, and nothing can be 
more emblematic of stability than it is, and 
nothing more at variance with the appearance 
of a roller. For the apostate altar — the Pro- 
voker, we refer to the sun-surmounted pillar, — 
the Transgression of the Wilderness, — and to 
Egypt's minor Osiris ! 

There was a contention of the people in the 
time of Elijah as to which of the two altars 
was an emblem of the truth, and it was 
decided that the God which answered by fire 
should be acknowledged the true one. The 
narrative occurs in the 18th chapter of the 1st 
Book of Kings, which relates how Ahab, the 
prophets of Baal, and Elijah, had a conference 
together. " And it came to pass, when Ahab 



78 ON A MEMOIR OF 

saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou 
he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, 
I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and 
thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken 
the commandments of the Lord, and thou 
hast followed Baalim. Now therefore send, 
and gather to me all Israel unto Mount Carmel, 
and the prophets of Baal four hundred and 
fifty," &c. ; which being done, " Elijah came 
unto all the people, and said, How long 
will ye halt between two opinions? If the 
Lord be God, follow him : but if Baal, then 
follow him. And the people answered him not 
a word. Then said Elijah unto the people, I, 
even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord; 
but Baal's prophets are four hundred and 
fifty men. Let them therefore give us two 
bullocks; and let them choose one bullock 
for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay 
it on wood, and put no fire under : and I 
will dress the other bullock, and lay it on 
wood, and put no fire under : and call ye on 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 79 

the name of your gods, and I will call on 
the name of the Lord : and the God that 
answereth by fire, let him be God. And 
all the people answered and said, It is well 
spoken." 

When the bullock was prepared, the prophets 
of solar stability called on the name of Baal 
from morning even until noon, saying, " O 
Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor 

any that answered And Elijah said 

unto all the people, Come near unto me. And 
all the people came near unto him : and he 
repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken 
down." This evinces to us that the altar of 
the Lord had been broken down by the 
erection of the Solar one. The foundations 
of the former had been removed to support 
the latter, which we know could have no real 
foundation, for planetaries are in their nature 
unfounded, — Elijah being the only one left who 
stood firm to the works of the Lord. The altar 
of God might well be pictured as the ruinous, 



80 ON A MEMOIR OF 

neglected, decayed, and broken-down building, 
wanting the repairs of the faithful; for its 
sacrifices, and its offerings, which were once 
as a sweet savour, ascending and acceptable 
unto God, were now no more ! The system 
of the Sun was adopted, and that of the 
Lord was rejected. Nevertheless, it was de- 
termined that on that very day it should be 
known, and also confessed, which of the two 
claimed stability by right, — the altar of God, 
i. e. the earth, or the altar of the Sun. There 
were two ruling fires, contending with each 
other; that of the Lord Jehovah, and that 
of Baal, the Molten Calf; each claiming sta- 
bility as a representative of the works of 
creation. Therefore it was agreed, that the 
God which answered by fire should hence- 
forth be ruler. 

"And it came to pass at the time of the 
offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah 
the Prophet came near, and said, Lord God 
of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 81 

known this clay that thou art God in Israel, 
and that I am thy servant, and that I have 
done all these things at thy word. Hear me, 
O Lord, hear me, that this people may 
know that thou art the Lord God, and that 
thou hast turned their heart back again. 
Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed 
the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the 
stones, and the dust, and licked up the 
water that was in the trench. And when 
all the people saw it, they fell on their faces, 
and they said, The Lord, he is the God; 
the Lord, he is the God. And Elijah said 
unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let 
not one of them escape. And they took 
them; and Elijah brought them down to the 
brook Kishon, and slew them there." 

This is the second slaughter; the first having 
been executed by the sons of Levi, and this by 
the order of Elijah. It proves that destruction 
lurks in the solar device, for the sun, merely 
as an object of worship, was not the extent 

F 



82 ON A MEMOIR OF 

of the transgression; it reduced to a fixed 
point the grand revolving luminary. 

It seems also that these solar fixtures were 
deemed defilers of the Temple. There is a 
Babylonish idol which just occurs to us that 
has not yet been mentioned: — the idol is 
called Merodach or Miredach. The word is 
a derivative from T"^ yarad, TW) radah, to 
descend, and J"D1 dacali, to break in pieces; 
and by prefixing the letter ft mem, it forms 
the noun *pnft Miredach : by that name the 
idolaters intended to express the material 
spirit, or gross air, which they considered as 
descending from the extremity of the system 
to the solar fire, and there being broken or 
ground to atoms. We do not pretend to call 
this a representative of the solar fire : never- 
theless it had to do with a system of the 
heavens, in which the sun was in the centre, 
a Baal, the ruler. The prophet Jeremiah 
thus speaks of the judgment of Babylon, 
(chap, l.), — " Declare ye among the nations, 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 83 

and publish, and set up a standard; publish, 
and conceal not : say, Babylon is taken, Bel 
is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces, 

her idols are confounded ; for their 

day is come, the time of their visitation. 
The voice of them that flee and escape out 
of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion 
the vengeance of the Lord our God, the 
vengeance of his temple." 

Hence we infer that a certain species of 
hymn defiles the temple ! 

Let us go as far as we will in the investi- 
gation of these solar fixtures, they are ever seen 
to fall under the Almighty's displeasure. The 
mighty Nebuchadnezzar gloried in the 6i great 
Babylon 99 which he had built, the whole of 
which was dedicated to the service of Bel, and 
was as a magnificent Planetarium in honour of 
that seven-headed and ten-horned idol. (e The 
king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, 
that I have built for the house of the kingdom 
by the might of my power, and for the honour 



84 ON A MEMOIR OF 

of my majesty ? " And even "while the word" 
(in praise of Bel) "was in the king's mouth" 
the watcher — the Holy One — pronounced, in 
a voice from Heaven, — " The kingdom is de- 
parted from thee : " — and the proud monarch, 
the king of kings, as he is styled, was struck 
instantaneously with madness, and with degra- 
dation of the human frame. And "the same 
hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchad- 
nezzar : and he was driven from men, and did 
eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with 
the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown 
like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' 
claws" (Dan.iv. 33.) But then, with penitence 
and returning piety, and the acknowledgment 
of God's majesty and truth in the system of 
creation which he has visibly displayed to 
man, came the forgiveness of the Most High. 
" And at the end of the days " — (that cheering 
expression) — when he lifted up his eyes unto 
heaven, (gazing there with the adoring looks 
which he had hitherto been accustomed to 



DoTuel c.W. 7.XXXU1. 



The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon 
Nebuchadnezzar ,• and he was driven from men, 
and did eat grafs as oxen . 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 85 

offer at the shrine of Bel, the image of solar 
fixedness,) and the fetters which had bound 
his reason were unclasped by the Holy One, 
he most earnestly, and without loss of time, 
praised and extolled and honoured the "king 
of heaven, all whose ivorks" (that is, the 
celestial spheres and the system of creation) 
66 are truth, and his ways judgment" (Dan. 
iv. 37.) 

Well might the Holy Ghost, we repeat, 
exhort and warn all persons to be quick in 
decision, seeing that not only wreck of the 
body, but of the mind also, was the reward 
of the transgressors. Happily the exhortation 
is still continued in our churches by the intro- 
duction into the service, as already noticed, of 
the 95th Psalm. " O come, let us worship and 
bow down : let us kneel before the Lord our 
Maker. For he is our God, and we are the 
people of his pasture, and the sheep of his 
hand. To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden 
not your heart, as in the provocation," &c. 



86 ON A MEMOIR OF 

The introduction of this 95th Psalm may 
perhaps lead others, as it hath done our- 
selves, to consult the references, in order to 
find out what could possibly have been the 
cause of such repeated exhortations, not to 
postpone the hearing of the voice. The 
present scrutiny hath succeeded in laying 
bare the transgression; yet there probably 
is not in the whole congregation, not even 
excepting the Clergyman himself, a single in- 
dividual who has taken the trouble to ascertain 
what that peculiar exhortation meant, further 
than that it referred to some transaction early 
after the departure out of Egypt; nor any 
perhaps who have the least idea that their 
own Solar System is the counterpart of the 
idolatrous misdemeanour which caused the 
slaughter of three thousand persons in the 
Wilderness, and again of four hundred and 
fifty when the Altar of Earth gained the 
Victory ! 

In the communication which we have quoted, . 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 87 

Mr. Howell intimates the opinion that where 
mention is made in the Bible of the circuit 
of the sun and the steadfastness of the earth, 
these expressions may fall under the predica- 
ment of being merely figurative, and of having 
exactly the reverse meaning ! And indeed 
they must be so interpreted, if we implicitly 
believe the Newtonian theory to be true. But 
then if passages of the Scriptures are thus to 
be perverted into the sense directly contrary 
to that which their words express in the 
plainest terms, may we not just as well 
conclude, by the same kind of argument, 
that those said to be " slain by the sword" 
are actually to be regarded as in the enjoyment 
of life? Both are actually seen to be as it 
is written, — the slain are seen to be dead, and 
the sun is seen to perform his circular motion. 
Can any thing delude more strongly than this 
said Newtonian theory? Really its advocates 
seem willing to relinquish common sense in 
its support. And certainly there is not any 



88 



ON A MEMOIR OF 



thing which tallies with St. Paul's " strong de- 
lusion 55 equally as it does; coinciding with it 
to a tittle, as the whole of the civilized na- 
tions, with the exception of a few individuals 
scattered here and there, are bound in its 
spell ! And there they will remain, struggling 
for the Truth in a system where they them- 
selves declare it is not ! — and setting the 
stumbling-block of their iniquity before their 
faces, so long as " he who now letteth will let, 
until he be taken out of the way." 

Now in regard to Mr. Howell, let us sup- 
pose that he had been restored to health, and 
that he had seen 6 Letters-Memorial/ which 
of course would then have been devoid of the 
closing scene. Firstly, in accordance with the 
sacred vow which he made when on the bed 
of sickness, that should lengthened life be his, 
he would give himself up to the study of the 
Bible, — a promise which he would doubtless 
have fulfilled, — he would have been led to 
inquire searchingly into the accordance of the 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 89 

higher sciences with scriptural truth. Secondly? 
he might have felt himself aggrieved by the 
tenor of some parts of 6 Letters-Memorial/ 
and consequently have determined to address 
his Torquay friends on that delicate subject? 
interspersing probably his remarks with some 
hints relative to scriptural researches^ which 
it might occur to him they had overlooked. 

The first of Mr. Howell's achievements^ had 
it pleased God to have restored him to healthy 
must have been to bring the sublime science 
of Astronomy to the test of the words of 
Moses, the Prophets, the Psalmist, the Apostles, 
and of Jesus Christ himself; which being done? 
he would soon> with his quick discernment and 
steady research? have convinced himself not 
only of its evil tendency? but of the decided 
similarity in meaning between the Orrery and 
the various idolatrous erections of the ancients? 
as astronomical structures. 

From the well-known character of Mr. 
Howell? he would never have rested (after he 



90 



ON A MEMOIR OF 



had been schooled in Biblical science) until he 
had tested the faith of his Torquay friends on 
some particular points, which he might then 
deem important. He would probably have 
felt, that as they had been somewhat keen 
upon him, he was entitled to give them a 
hint that the beam was in their own eye while 
they were endeavouring to extract the mote 
from his. He might, finding himself better 
schooled, have given the Minister a lesson, 
showing that the Scriptures had not been 
searched so deeply by himself as to authorize 
his finding much fault with a scientific brother ! 

We have some ground for thinking that 
Mr. Howell would have been eager to have 
written to his Torquay friends, had he lived 
to peruse their (to our thinking) somewhat 
obtrusively offered record of his self-confessed 
transgressions, from the following instance of 
his tenaciousness in replying to any thing 
which might appear to have gained the smallest 
advantage over his then favourite hypothesis. 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 91 

In an early stage of the illness which ter- 
minated in his premature death, the writer 
of these remarks presented for Mr. HowelFs 
acceptance a small volume, the contents of 
which did not pay much compliment to the 
touch me not! — the theory of Newton. 
Although he at that time lay dangerously ill, 
" keeping his couch/' as he expressed it, never- 
theless he could not be at peace until he had 
written, to repair the damages done by the 
little book. In acknowledging its receipt, al- 
though not coinciding with the tenor of its 
contents, he expressed himself in regard to it 
in terms which we deemed complimentary. 
His letter commenced thus: — "I have taken 
the liberty of deferring my acknowledgment of 
your kind courtesy in presenting me a copy 
of your ( Letter to Miss Coulthard' until I 
could peruse it with the careful attention 
which the importance of the subject on which 
it treats, the evident sincerity of your con- 
victions, and the time and attention you have 



92 



ON A MEMOIR OF 



bestowed on it, so deservedly merit." In 
occasional notes, Mr. Howell has often re- 
peated that the sole aim of his researches 
was to arrive at Truth; and therefore, had 
his life been spared, constrained as he would 
have been to step into a different path of 
study from that of former days, and reflecting 
that he had not found the object he sought 
in a certain branch of science, he would 
doubtless have entered on his new career 
of Biblical research with the most earnest 
assiduity, which in fact was the well-known 
habit of that highly talented gentleman in 
all his literary pursuits. 

It appears that Mr. Howell's biographer 
was very sensible of this quality of his mind. 
At page 33 of 6 Letters-Memorial/ in speak- 
ing of the " uncommon activity of his mind/' 
the reverend writer remarks — "Even whilst 
lying on bed so long, notwithstanding the 
general debility to which he was reduced, 
and his incapacity for continuous reading, he 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 93 

was never found in a listless or dreamy 
mood. His mind was not only actively em- 
ployed, but his whole mental energies were 
intently fixed on some one particular subject. 
This great power of abstraction, or concentra- 
tiveness, forced itself on my attention as a 
peculiarity. In his circumstances, it might 
have been expected that the activity of his 
mind would have manifested itself in restless- 
ness, — in the ungovernable roving of his 
thoughts amidst the immensity of subjects with 
which he was familiar, and affecting even his 
bodily frame with continual tossings to and 
fro. But the very reverse of this was mani- 
fested. His thoughts were under complete 
control. They ran all in the direction of 
some one truth that had been submitted to 
his consideration; and they never were di- 
verted from it till he had sifted it to his 
satisfaction." 

This is a faithful description of Mr. Howell's 
mental character; and, on his restoration to 



94 ON A MEMOIR OF 

health (had it been the will of God to have so 
permitted), the same energy and determination 
not to be diverted from any thing which had 
been submitted for his consideration, until 
he had sifted it to his satisfaction, would 
still have been the bent of his vigorous mind. 
The subject submitted for his considera- 
tion in the 6 Letter to Miss Coulthard/ which 
advocates the Word of Goc?, must then have 
come under his investigation, agreeably to 
his own Testimony in ' Letters - Memorial.' 
Its importance could not have allowed of its 
being overlooked : his mental energies must 
have been intently fixed on that particular 
subject — the system of Creation according to 
the Word. 

In the Conclusion of e Lett. - Mem./ page 
159, in reference to the peculiar temperament 
of Mr. HowelPs mind, we read, — " Such was 
the constitution or temperament of his mind, 
that he had no rest until the Spirit of God 
discovered to him the Truth he was in pur- 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 95 

suit of to rest upon. But, having once found 
the truth, he held it fast," &c. 

This may hold good with respect to his 
assiduity (had he lived) in striving to discover 
the Truth of the movement of the visible host 
of heaven. And, how was he to discover that 
truth, which was worthy of being held fast, 
but by researches into the Holy records, and, 
having faith therein, by the aid of ocular 
demonstration? He had already confessed 
that truth was not to be found in the teach- 
ings of man on that subject. 

Who knows, then, but that with that pecu- 
liar weapon of light, so well defined by the 
Rev. David Pitcairn, and which worked so 
admirably in the mind of our late respected 
friend, he might (after searching into the 
sacred records with impartial vigour, and 
finding thereby that the thoughts of his reve- 
rend friend were somewhat tinctured with 
what Saint Paul styles the beggarly elements 
of the world, and not after Christ,) have used 



96 



ON A MEMOIR OF 



the important instrument in his possession, 
— the sword of the Spirit, — the Word of 
God, — with the same happy success upon the 
mind of his clerical monitor? We own that 
it is a difficult matter to expunge the doctrines 
of Newton from any mind in which they have 
long been held: we can assert this from our 
own experience, recollecting the time when 
even a word spoken against the Newtonian 
system of the heavens excited our anger 
almost to frenzy. And what availed such 
valiant indignation with respect to our own 
mind? The Spirit of God hath made it 
surrender. And there is the highest proba- 
bility that had the life of our late talented 
friend been spared, he might have acted upon 
the mind of the Rev. David Pitcairn in such 
a manner as finally to have driven out that 
ee strong delusion " which retards implicit faith ; 
nor is it at all impossible but that the 
reverend convert might have given to an 
inquirer (and in the same spirit of truth) a 



THE LATE MR. HOWELL. 97 

similar reply to that which the invalid gave 
to Dr. Madden when questioned about the 
state of his mind ; — " Oh ! there has been a 
wonderful change ! — wonderful — wonderful ! " 
Yet no more wonderful than that which took 
place in Mr. Howell's own convictions ! And 
as Mr. Howell was distinguished by a bent of 
mind so persevering, his attack upon his 
Torquay friends would not have been easily 
stopped, but he would have claimed the right 
of setting the stumbling-block of their iniquity 
in its proper light, and, by using the self-same 
weapon which had converted himself, so, with 
the Divine blessing, he might probably have 
made such a change in them, that finally the 
Rev. David Pitcairn and Mr. Howell would 
have been upon a par, and truly Christian phi- 
losophers ! This, however, was decreed not to 
be ! The great I am, for his own wise pur- 
poses, ordained it otherwise. But the Testi- 
mony remains, depreciating marvellously the 
higher sciences, and showing the uncertain 

G 



98 ON A MEMOIR, &C. 

tenure by which they are held, — their ex- 
istence frequently depending upon health, and 
their downfall in the mind upon the bed of 
sickness ! 



NOTE. 



In the preceding Observations ' we have quoted 
(pages 47, 48) the following verse from the 
prophet Isaiah : " For thou hast said in thine 
heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt 
my throne above the stars of God: I will sit 
upon the mount of the congregation, in the 
sides of the north." (xiv. 13.) 

Upon further consideration of this passage, 
it appears to be deserving of notice, in ad- 
dition to the remarks already made, that there 
was no door to the north in the primitive 
sanctuary, and that, consequently, those who 
would force themselves therein at that quarter, 
must of necessity obtain entrance by an un- 
lawful passage. 

Our Saviour, speaking metaphorically, styles 
himself the Shepherd of the sheep : and may 



100 



NOTEo 



not, then, the universal tabernacle, — the great 
congregation, that is, which comprehends all 
sects and denominations, — be justly styled, 
by the same metaphor, his sheep? Thus, in 
John x. 1, the Saviour saith, "Verily, verily, 
I say unto you, He that entereth not by the 
door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some 
other way, the same is a thief and a robber." 
And at verse 7? it is repeated, "Then said 
Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say 
unto you, I am the door of the sheep." The 
fact, indeed, of climbing up by " some other 
way" than that appointed, clearly indicates 
the manoeuvre of a robber. It may, I think, 
fairly be inferred, that there is but one door for 
those who style themselves Christians whereby 
to obtain an entrance into the heavenly taber- 
nacle of God's rest. The earthly tabernacle, 
apparently, being symbolical, had but one door, 
and hence the necessity of climbing up, or 
breaking through, to gain a seat on the mount 
of the congregation, in the sides of the north. 



NOTE. 101 

Furthermore, we are taught by the Scrip- 
tures to believe that God is no respecter of 
persons ; and as this can scarcely be supposed 
to imply the mere knowledge of personality — 
that is, of form or appearance — we must in- 
terpret it as alluding to the eye of equal satis- 
faction with which the Almighty Father regards 
the obeyance of his commandments by any 
sect or denomination of religionists. May we 
not then presume, that all who obey his 
commandments, and do his will according to 
the precepts of Christ, shall not be excluded 
from that heavenly rest of which the Testa- 
ment speaks ? For the above-mentioned duties 
appear, at least to me, to constitute the real 
essentials of Christianity, independently of any 
doctrines that may be entertained by various 
sects, or of the names by which they are seve- 
rally distinguished. 

The precepts of our Saviour appear to be 
easy of accomplishment — " do unto others as 
ye would they should do unto you;" and, 



102 NOTE. 

"love thy neighbour as thyself." Were these 
precepts strictly observed, all nations would 
not only be happy, but would be brought 
within the pale of the Christian Church, 
thereby constituting Christ, visibly, as the 
Saviour of the world! We are also exhorted 
to denounce the pomps and vanities of this 
world, and seemingly for this reason : they 
foster pride, a love of riches, and a desire 
to obtain rank in society. All these tend to 
lessen that species of esteem for our neigh- 
bour which we are enjoined to exhibit in our 
actions ; and by the neglect of which we wholly 
disregard the heavenly precepts, otherwise so 
easy of accomplishment. It was the pomp, 
the pride, and the splendour, of Babylon and 
Nineveh, that caused their overthrow; and it 
is our humble opinion, that the Brahminist and 
the Moslem, or the followers of any other form 
of worship, if they act upon, and in the spirit 
of, the precepts of Jesus Christ, are virtually 
Christians, even though unconscious of the 



NOTE. 103 

very name of Christ, — just as the mere name 
of Christianity, while the spirit of its precepts 
is disregarded, does not entitle those who pro- 
fess to hold it to any of its invaluable privi- 
leges, but leaves them unmindful disciples of 
their heavenly Saviour and Master ! 

Let us now revert to the system of Creation 
— the house or dwelling-place of God. The 
prophet Isaiah, whose language is universally 
allowed to be peculiarly sublime, addresses the 
people regarding the system of the universe, 
and, when hinting to the nations their false idea 
of it, says : " Thus saith the Lord, The heaven 
is my throne, and the earth is my footstool" 
Then, speaking in the person of the Almighty, 
he indignantly inquires, " Where is the house 
ye build unto me ? * and where is the place 



* " Where is the house ye build unto me?" This question, 
regarded in its symbolical meaning, evidently proves that their 
sun images were no other than Solar Systems, and were meant 
to imhue the mind with the idea, that the principles of the 
System of the Universe were based upon a stable sun and a re- 



104 NOTE. 

of my rest? 55 (lxvi. 1). The marginal note 
refers to 1 Kings viii. 27, which relates to the 
temple of Solomon, where that King says — 
" But will God indeed dwell on the earth ? be- 
hold, the heaven and heaven of heavens can- 
not contain thee; how much less this house 
that I have builded ? " He then proceeds to 

volving earth — identically the same as those of the Newtonian 
philosophy. The prophet further says — " and where is the 
place of my rest?" alluding to the footstool, which was no- 
where to he found in those days, any more than in these, as a 
stable object for the feet ! The prophet's language, although 
highly metaphorical, is easily understood by those who direct 
their attention to the Hypothesis alike of ancient and modern 
days. Much of metaphor might be elucidated by endeavouring 
to ascertain, impartially, to what subject particular forms of ex- 
pression refer ; but none are inclined in the present day to give 
to Scripture unbiassed attention. The solar system is at the 
head of default, and, so long as that is permitted to remain, 
even the explanations of the learned are far below what they 
might be in value. For instance, who would ever have thought 
that Christ's Gospel of the Kingdom referred to science? 
which indeed could never have been ascertained but by re- 
moving the head of default, and the doing which has yet made 
it so clear, that there is no disputing it. Much of what is 
metaphorical in the Bible bears against the Solar System, and 
such passages become consequently a blank to those who adopt 
that fallacious theory. 



NOTE. 105 

explain the use and purposes of the temple, 
as thus : " If any man trespass against his 
neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to 
cause him to swear, and the oath come before 
thine altar in this house: Then hear thou in 
heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, con- 
demning the wicked, to bring his way upon 
his head; and justifying the righteous," &c. 
(v. 31, 32.) Mark the expression, "thine 
altar in this house;" constituting that altar 
a most solemn tribunal ! Not as a place where 
man could pass the judgments prompted by 
his own reflections, but where his voice be- 
came the medium for communicating the 
supernatural inspirations of God himself. — 
Here, again, we have the earthly and the 
heavenly temple brought into conjunction, and 
their unity of design and purpose clearly 
shown. 

Again, in Matthew xxiv., Christ foretells the 
destruction of the temple, and the awful calam- 
ities and afflictions which shall take place, — 



106 NOTE. 

prophecies which are not intended to apply- 
exclusively to the Romans, — as some are apt 
to attribute all idolatries to them, — but to all 
nations and kingdoms throughout the world ; 
and also to denote the symptoms by which all 
people might know that it was time to be upon 
their guard. Among these signs, there was to 
be, according to our Saviour, a peculiar preach- 
ing of a certain Gospel to go forth, as we find 
expressed in verses 14, 15, and 16; — and we 
are to recollect, that it is Christ himself who 
announceth in these verses, — u And this Gospel 
of the kingdom shall be preached in all the 
world for a witness unto all nations ; and then 
shall the end come. When ye therefore shall 
see the abomination of desolation, spoken of 
by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, 
(whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then 
let them which be in Judsea flee into the moun- 
tains." And further, at verse 21, our Lord 
says, — alluding to the period when the abomi- 
nation shall rage, — " Then shall be great tribu- 



NOTE. 107 

lation, such as was not from the beginning of 
the world, no, nor ever shall be." 

We are herein particularly enjoined to make 
ourselves well acquainted with the nature of 
the transgression alluded to by Christ at verse 
15, concerning the abomination of desolation, 
which was to cause those heavy afflictions of 
which he testifies, as being greater than any 
since the beginning of the world ! For further 
information on this point, we are referred by 
the marginal note to Daniel ix. 27 ; and as the 
preceding verse is connected with the subject, 
we transcribe a portion of it : " And the people 
of the prince that shall come" (alluding to the 
adverse party) " shall destroy the city and the 
sanctuary ; and the end thereof shall be with a 
flood, and unto the end of the war desolations 
are determined. And he shall confirm the 
covenant with many for one week ; and in the 
midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice 
and the oblation to cease, and for the over- 
spreading of abominations he shall make it 



108 NOTE. 

desolate/' — or, according to the different read- 
ing of the margin, " upon the battlements shall 
be the idols of the desolator" 

We require no clearer proof than this, that 
the idols of the desolator shall be seen on the 
battlements of the sanctuary ; evidently show- 
ing, that the abomination to which Christ re- 
ferred was caused by the Baalim or sun images 
of the unbelievers. This one point alone 
decides the fact, that the transgression took 
the range of the whole world, and had for 
its object a different meaning to that embodied 
in a crucifix. Hence we affirm, that Christ's 
Gospel of the kingdom struck at the ancient, 
desolating, speculative science. To imbibe a 
false idea of the distribution of the heavenly 
host, if Scripture be (as we are taught to be- 
lieve) the Word of God, is indeed a thing awful 
to contemplate ! A belief in the systems of 
human hypothesis is especially dangerous in 
adoption. 

Here, again, as we have seen above, with 



NOTE. 109 

reference to the destruction of the temple and 
the Gospel of the kingdom, the sanctuary*, 
God's dwelling-place on earth, is in communion 
with the system of creation. And we note 
that the prophet Daniel, when speaking of 
the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and 
the sanctuary, says, " the end thereof shall be 
with a flood;" which strictly corresponds with 
the passage of Isaiah, in which, after having 
emphatically described that system whose 
foundation was sure — where judgment was 
promised to be laid to the line, and righteous- 
ness to the plummet — he instantly reverts to 
the opposite plan — the hypothetical one, and 
prophesies that " the hail shall sweep away the 
refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the 
hiding-place" (xxviii. 17.) Then, similarly as 
Christ gives warning to the people of wrath to 
come and deadly contests, so likewise does the 
prophet warn them, saying (v. 21) — "For the 
Lord shall rise up as in Mount Perazim," (to 
scatter the Baalites,) " he shall be wroth as in 



110 



NOTE. 



the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, 
his strange work." This refers to Joshua x. 12. 
But this second strange work of the Lord will 
not, as then, be directed by the voice of man ! 
It may be presumed, that in greater indigna- 
tion the sun will then be stayed, and the con- 
flict with the aggressors will be more awfully 
severe. 

Thus, if we may be allowed the expression, 
Scripture appears to be, as it were, anastomized 
with a description of the true system of the 
universe, and threats against all who oppose it. 



September, 1845. 



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